Japan – Thailand
World ranked #9 Japan played a tough game against #19 Thailand, to close the provisional day standings in Pool B behind Serbia. Captain Momoka Oda and Misaki Yamauchi both scored 14 points, while the star of Thailand was the team captain Kuttika Kaewpin, who blocked three times the opponent, collecting other 13 points at the net. Thailand’s errors at the end of the fourth set, like a fault set and the some defense off proper positions, weakened their action and let Japan closed the match without entering a dangerous tie break.
Japan captain Momoka Oda: “We tried to remain happy also when the match was not in our favour. We knew it is a good pool but we know also we have a fast play and a strong defence to use.“
Japan coach Yashuiro Fukuda: “The team was nervous at the beginning, but we stayed focused on the match until the very end. It is a strong pool so it was important to start well.“
Thailand captain Kuttika Kaewpin: “We spiked hard but they were stronger than us. It was not easy for me to stimulate my team-mates during these long rallies. Now we have to fight for the next match.“
Thailand coach Nataph Srisamutnak: “Japan have a good defence, we tried to spike as hard as we can but it was really tough. We did some easy points and others were so difficult to score. The end was very disappointing because we were ahead almost until the end of the set but we lost the key points.“
To read more news from this competition click on Junior World Championship 2013 W.
